Click to pre-order the Blu Ray of House of Cards season 1, out on June 11.

I grew up in a small town and went to college in the Midwest, got my first “real” job on the East Coast, and moved to Washington, D.C. I’m sure the Washingtonians could smell fresh blood the moment I stepped out of the car. Although I have been here for a few years, I always find Washington, D.C., hard to describe—it isn’t a normal city and it doesn’t play by normal rules. Manners are rare and the smile exotic. If the district had a “state” song and a “district” animal… it would be “Money” by Pink Floyd and the indestructible cockroach.

Yes, Washington, D.C., is gorgeous and a lot of good people work and live here; the picturesque bridges over the Potomac River, the utopian dream that is George Washington Parkway, and constant influxes of young, bright-eyed people who want to change the world. However, despite its white, marble buildings and shining waters, D.C. is not all that it seems. Rules have been suspended within the 68.3 sq miles of the District. In fact, D.C. becomes a sort of alternative universe compared to the rest of the country.

A lot of television shows are set here, most recently, the political-thriller House of Cards (HoC). Why is D.C. a popular “show” location? Probably because any ridiculous plot line can work here—anything can happen and be believable. As a Washingtonian watching HoC, it is easy to say that its “fiction” is more similar to reality than one would like to admit. Be afraid. The following are three HoC characters you would meet in D.C.—Washingtonians know them well.

SPOILER ALERT: for those of you who have not seen all of House of Cards, season one, be warned.

I hate to rain on the author's parade but she's apparently unaware that this version of House of Cards is based on a British series of the same name made about 1990 by the BBC. I haven't seen the original but I understand the new version is just an Americanization of the original, just like All in the Family was an Americanization of a successful British sitcom.

Something maintained between the British and American versions of House of Cards is that the main character has the initials F.U. (eff you). I understand that the British writer chose those initials to reflect his feelings about the nature of the politicians in his Parliament.

I have family who live a distance from DC. Even as far away as they are and in the countryside, you can just about feel the miasma of DC in the air. That's probably caused by the overpaid bureaucrats, lawyers and lobbyists spreading out from DC, corrupting formerly solidly Republican districts.

I live in a DC 'burb too and second that. Bureaucrats only make so much, it's the lobbyists, think tank researchers, media members and assorted hanger-ons (lawyers, PR people, etc.) that are driving the Hunger Games stereotype.

Only the very young and very old gov't types can live close to their jobs. In my agency, some commute for WV and PA.